Prior to being a bookstore, the cathedral served a number of functions, including being used as a warehouse and as an indoor bicycle parking lot.'
/ Screen grab

Livraria da Vila, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Livraria da Vila bookstore in Sao Paulo, Brazil, makes use of every bit of space available. The walls are lined with books from the floor to the ceiling, and so is a space cut into the floor.
/ viajandocomadica.com

Livraria da Vila, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Even the doors of the bookstore are functioning bookshelves.
/ flavorwire.com

The Book Barge, Staffordshire, England

What’s better than a bookstore that comes to you? The Book Barge is a floating bookshop that travels U.K. waterways at about six kilometres per hour. It moors in Staffordshire.
/ www.thebookbarge.co.uk

The Book Barge, Staffordshire, England

Book Barge owner Sarah Henshaw says she was inspired in part by the slow food movement.
/ www.thebookbarge.co.uk

El Pendulo, Mexico City

The El Pendulo bookstore in Mexico City is regularly included in lists of the world’s best bookstores.
/ skyscrapercity.com

El Pendulo bookstore, Mexico City

The bookstore is a favourite because of its open plan, greenery and café as well as its book selections.
/ skyscrapercity.com

Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Books, books and more books as well as a quirky charm have made Shakespeare and Company in Paris a must-see shop.
/ Screen grab

Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Most recently, the shop was featured in the movie Before Sunset, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
/ Screen grab

El Ateneo, Buenos Aires

The El Ateneo bookstore in central Buenos Aires was originally a theatre. It was converted to a bookstore in 2000.
/ Screen grab

El Ateneo, Buenos Aires

The curtains, lighting and ‘stage’ café are a nod to the bookstore’s history.
/ Screen grab

The bookstore’s iconic staircase harkens to an earlier time. Upstairs, there is a four-table coffee shop.
/ Stukinha, Flicker.com

Poplar Kid’s Republic, Beijing

Start with an all-white interior and then infuse your space with a rainbow of colour, and you get the Poplar Kid’s Republic in Beijing.
/ Screen grab

Poplar Kid’s Republic, Beijing

With kids’ books in many languages, and lots of spots for reading and relaxing, the Poplar Kid’s Republic is beloved by children and adults alike.
/ Screen grab

Cook & Book, Brussels

With its ceiling of 'floating' books, Cook & Book in Brussels, Belgium turns display into an art form.
/ www.cookandbook.be

Cook & Book, Brussels

The bookstore stocks every kind of book from comics and fine arts tomes to travel guides and, of course, cookbooks.
/ www.cookandbook.be

Plural Bookshop, Bratislava, Slovakia

The great lines of the staircase structure are the centerpiece of this calming bookstore and café in Bratislava, Slovakia.
/ www.fubiz.net

Plural Bookshop, Bratislava, Slovakia

Another view of the bookshop.
/ flavorwire.com

Bookabar Bookshop, Rome

A bookstore and bar spread over 5,000 square feet in central Rome, this store is relatively new and looks it. A sleek, modern look distinguishes it from most other bookstores.
/ trabalibros.com

The Bookworm, Beijing

A café, European bistro, lending library and bookshop all in one under a draped ceiling with floating candles, the Bookworm has been a perennial favorite among expats since its opening in 2000, says Wikimapia.
/ somecornerofaforeignfield.files.wordpress.com

American Book Centre, Amsterdam

The four fabulous floors of the American Book Centre are crammed with bookshelves everywhere, even lining the staircases. The bookstore is known for its collection of English literature, one of the largest in continental Europe, as well as for the tree trunks that sprout from the floor.
/ www.abc.nl/

Brattle Book Shop, Boston

Established in 1825, the Brattle Book Shop is one of North America`s oldest and largest used bookstores. The store comprises three indoor floors of books as well as this `bargain bin` outdoor lot where customers flock to snap up bargains for $1, $3 and $5.
/ longislanddailyphoto.blogspot.com

Le Bal des Ardents, Lyon

This bookstore in the heart of downtown Lyon, France sells books, comics and art from established authors but takes pride in the works by emerging writers that it carries.'
/ www.flickr.com/photos/punkinmom

Another Country, Berlin

Berlin’s largest English secondhand bookstore, with about 20,000 books that can be bought or borrowed. Pay the price of the book and receive the cost, minus a 1.50 Euro charge, should you choose to return it.'
/ www.anothercountry.de

Barter Books, England

Barter Books is a secondhand bookshop, one of the largest in Europe, located in Alnwick Station, a former town station in Northumberland, England. Customers can purchase books or use a barter system in which they exchange their books for credit against future purchases.
/ www.flavorwire.com

Daunt Books, London

Daunt Books is an original Edwardian bookshop with long oak galleries and graceful skylights in London. The store specializes in travel books and its London branch and others regularly feature author talks and discussions.
/ astarredhotel.blogspot.com

Atlantis Books, Santorini

The best view from a bookstore has to be at Atlantis Books in Oia, Santorini, about 200 km from Greece’s mainland. ‘In the spring of 2002, Oliver and Craig spent a week on the island of Santorini. The land inspired them and there was no bookshop, so they drank some wine and decided to open one,’ states the shop’s website.'
/ reviewstk.blogspot.com

Atlantis Books, Santorini

The interior of Atlantis Books in Santorini.
/ www.atlantisbooks.org

Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice

This secondhand Italian and English bookstore has thousands of books, many stacked and displayed in gondolas and bathtubs.
/ Michele Scarpa

We all know that it's good to read but now research shows that it's also good for your mental health.

First, an earlier study conducted at the University of Sussex found that reading is the best way to relax. Even reading six minutes can be enough to reduce stress levels by more than two-thirds, beating listening to music, going for a walk and having a cup of tea as a stress reducer.

Then just last month, a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that even re-reading books can be good for you. This study, done in the U.S. and New Zealand, found that when people choose to re-read a book, they experience feelings of heightened awareness and pleasure.

It makes sense because as far as we're concerned, some of the happiest places in the world are bookstores.

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When it comes to gift giving, they say it’s the thought that counts. But many are wondering if Mayor Drew Dilkens was thinking at all when he gave Olympic superstar Michael Phelps — whose battles with booze are well known — a big bottle of Canadian Club whisky.

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